HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – St. Stephens High has named Patrick Smith as its new varsity boys’ basketball coach.
The school announced his hiring on Friday morning.
SMITH
“I am extremely excited that we were able to hire someone with Patrick’s basketball knowledge and credentials,” St. Stephens athletic director Billy Baker said. “I am even more excited about the quality of person that we were able to find.
“Patrick is fitting in well with our faculty and he is looking forward to getting started on the court.”
Smith replaces Murphy Post, who resigned to become an elementary school administrator, as head coach.
Smith is an East Burke High graduate and graduate of East Carolina whose coaching career includes time on the staff at East Carteret under new West Caldwell varsity boys’ head coach Billy Anderson.
Smith will teach history at St. Stephens.
Post coached the Indians for seven seasons after replacing Gary Bowe as head coach after the 2010-11 season.
St. Stephens went 11-14 overall last season and tied for sixth place in the Northwestern 3A-4A at 4-11.
The Indians went 79-99 under Post and reached the state playoffs in each of his first three seasons. They were 19-8 in his second year after tying for second place in the league, and they were 47-27 after Post’s third year and 32-66 since.
Smith is only the sixth head coach for varsity boys’ hoops at St. Stephens since the late 1970s.
The Indians have been as far as the West Regionals once, going 22-7 under Bowne in 2000-01.